More Americans Politically Aligning with Republican Party Than Democratic Party

What a difference an election makes! After the recent midterm elections, Republicans now have a mojority in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

In a stunning change, the midterm election wave has provided a Republicans a majority in both the Senate and House. It has also shifted Americans’ political allegiance toward the GOP, a new poll shows.

The new Gallup poll indicates that 43 percent of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned toward the Democratic Party before the Nov. 4 elections, while 39 percent identified as or leaned Republican.

But after the election, Republicans have been given a small advantage, 42 percent to 41 percent, representing a net shift of a whopping five percentage points in the partisanship gap, according to Gallup reports.

The poll analysis noted, “Americans are also now more likely to align themselves politically with the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. The 2014 midterms were an unqualified success for the Republican Party, and that success has caused Americans to view the Republican Party more favorably than the Democratic Party, as well as to say congressional Republicans should have more influence than President Barack Obama over the direction the nation takes in the next year.”

It has been called a shift in the “bandwagon” effect enjoyed by the winning party. It should be noted that the GOP have benefited after the 1994 and 2002 midterm elections. The Democrats benefited after the 2006 election.

Not every “wave” election has meant a distinct shift in a party’s advantage, according to Gallup, including elections in 1998 and 2010. There’s no clear pattern showing how long the effect lasts, Gallup reports.

According to Gallup, “It is not clear how long these good feelings toward the GOP will last. That could be influenced by what Republicans do with their enhanced power.”

Dwight L. Schwab Jr. is a moderate conservative who looks at all sides of a story, then speaks his mind. His BS in journalism from University of Oregon, with minors in political science and American history stands him in good stead for his writing.

Dwight has 30 years in the publishing industry, including ABC/Cap Cities and International Thomson. A native of Portland, Oregon, and now a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area.